X-Ray, Rib Series Normal, Obvious Change in Rib Structure

Hi!

I'm 22, female, no kids, and no other health problems. I've been sick for about 8 weeks - started as a cold with a really, really bad cough, progressed to a sinus infection and the cough continued. When I realized I had a sinus infection, I went to a nurse practitioner who put me on an antibiotic which cleared the infection up. As the infection cleared, I developed pain and slight swelling in my ribs on my right side, just below my breast. NP sent me for a chest x-ray, which came up clear. Went back to the NP who diagnosed it as pleurisy as it hurts when I breathe, cough, sneeze, stretch - anything that causes those ribs to move. The pain also slightly radiates to my back on the same side. The swelling was gone by then, and he put me on some kind of steroids in hopes of clearing up pleurisy. That did nothing, and I went back yesterday for him to examine the ribs again as I noticed that they are sort of "sunken in" as opposed to the way they normally protrude on the left side. The difference is about a half an inch. He sent me for a CBC and a rib series - both came up normal except that my white blood count is on the "high side of normal". Something also showed up about a bacterial infection, and I've been running a low grade fever the whole time, so I'm back on antibiotics for a week.

How can a chest x-ray and rib series be "normal" if there is such an obvious change in the structure of my ribs??

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